Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You and Your Team.

Learn More →

Dung fungi as a proxy for megaherbivores: opportunities and limitations for archaeological applications

Dung fungi as a proxy for megaherbivores: opportunities and limitations for archaeological... The use of spores of coprophilous fungi from sedimentary sequences as proxy evidence for large herbivore abundance has garnered pronounced attention and scrutiny over the past three decades. In response to the rapid rate at which new information is being discovered on this topic, this paper presents a brief review of the archaeological applications so far, and outlines opportunities and limitations of using Sporormiella as a proxy for herbivore abundance. Specific archaeological uses of this proxy include understanding megaherbivore extinctions and human land use patterns such as pastoralism and agriculture. We analyse how dung fungal records are formed and review the mycological literature to outline factors affecting spore reproduction and preservation. These include how strongly each commonly used dung fungal taxon relies on dung as a substrate and environmental factors affecting dung fungal reproduction and coprophilous fungi deposition. Certain laboratory preparation techniques adversely affect spore representation on pollen slides. The methods of analysis and quantification of spore records also impact our understanding. We describe good practice to increase precision of analytical methods. Due to limitations imposed by some of these factors, it is possible that an absence of dung fungi from a palaeoecological record does not imply an absence of herbivores. However, consideration of these factors and inclusion of as wide a range of coprophilous spore records as possible increases the reliability of such inferences. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Vegetation History and Archaeobotany Springer Journals

Dung fungi as a proxy for megaherbivores: opportunities and limitations for archaeological applications

Download PDF
12 pages
Read Article

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer_journal/dung-fungi-as-a-proxy-for-megaherbivores-opportunities-and-limitations-gqAWanFD6J
Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
Subject
Earth Sciences; Paleontology; Biogeosciences; Climate Change; Anthropology; Archaeology
ISSN
0939-6314
eISSN
1617-6278
DOI
10.1007/s00334-018-0686-7
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The use of spores of coprophilous fungi from sedimentary sequences as proxy evidence for large herbivore abundance has garnered pronounced attention and scrutiny over the past three decades. In response to the rapid rate at which new information is being discovered on this topic, this paper presents a brief review of the archaeological applications so far, and outlines opportunities and limitations of using Sporormiella as a proxy for herbivore abundance. Specific archaeological uses of this proxy include understanding megaherbivore extinctions and human land use patterns such as pastoralism and agriculture. We analyse how dung fungal records are formed and review the mycological literature to outline factors affecting spore reproduction and preservation. These include how strongly each commonly used dung fungal taxon relies on dung as a substrate and environmental factors affecting dung fungal reproduction and coprophilous fungi deposition. Certain laboratory preparation techniques adversely affect spore representation on pollen slides. The methods of analysis and quantification of spore records also impact our understanding. We describe good practice to increase precision of analytical methods. Due to limitations imposed by some of these factors, it is possible that an absence of dung fungi from a palaeoecological record does not imply an absence of herbivores. However, consideration of these factors and inclusion of as wide a range of coprophilous spore records as possible increases the reliability of such inferences.

Journal

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany – Springer Journals

Published: Jun 6, 2018

References

  • Sediment dynamics and hydrologic events affecting small lacustrine systems on the southern-central Tibetan Plateau—the example of TT lake
    Ahlborn, M; Haberzettl, T; Wang, J
  • Revision of the genera Sporormia and Sporormiella
    Ahmed, SI; Cain, R
  • A multispecies overkill simulation of the end-pleistocene megafaunal mass extinction
    Alroy, J
  • Coprophilous fungal communities in semiarid to mesic grasslands
    Angel, SK; Wicklow, DT
  • Factors influencing ascospore germination in three species of Sporormiella
    Asina, S; Jain, K; Cain, RF
  • Do spores of coprophilous fungi make a good proxy for past distribution of large herbivores?
    Baker, AG; Bhagwat, SA; Willis, KJ
  • Quantification of population sizes of large herbivores and their long-term functional role in ecosystems using spores of coprophilous fungi
    Baker, AG; Cornelissen, P; Bhagwat, SA
  • Notes on coprophilous bitunicate ascomycetes
    Barr, ME
  • Dung fungi: an illustrated guide to coprophilous fungi in New Zealand
    Bell, A
  • An illustrated guide to coprophilous fungi Ascomycetes of Australia. CBS biodiversity series
    Bell, A
  • Seasonal activity and species composition of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae) inhabiting cattle pastures in North Carolina
    Bertone, M; Green, J; Washburn, S
  • Potential environmental consequences of administration of anthelmintics to sheep
    Beynon, SA
  • Sporormiella and the late Holocene extinctions in Madagascar
    Burney, D; Robinson, GS; Burney, LP
  • Studies of coprophilous ascomycetes. VII: Preussia
    Cain, RF
  • Aspects of archaeological palynology: methodology and applications
    Clarke, CM
  • Modern and fossil non-pollen palynomorphs from the Basque mountains (western Pyrenees, France): the use of coprophilous fungi to reconstruct pastoral activity
    Cugny, C; Mazier, F; Galop, D
  • Compositional differences between dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae s. str.) assemblages in winter and summer rainfall climates
    Davis, ALV
  • Spores of the dung fungus Sporormiella: increased abundance in historic sediments and before Pleistocene megafaunal extinction
    Davis, OK
  • Sporormiella fungal spores, a palynological means of detecting herbivore density
    Davis, OK; Shafer, DS
  • Fungal biology
    Deacon, J
  • Growth of fungi in cattle dung
    Dickinson, CH; Underhay, VHS
  • Fungal ecology
    Dix, NJ; Webster, J
  • Fungi Fimicoli Italici
    Doveri, F
  • Ecological and human land-use indicator value of fungal spore morphotypes and assemblages
    Doyen, E; Etienne, D
  • Coprophilous fungal species composition and species diversity on various dung substrates of African game animals
    Ebersohn, C; Eicker, A
  • Seasonal variation in the dung of African grazing mammals, and its consequences for coprophagous insects
    Edwards, PB
  • Optimal counting limit for fungal spore abundance estimation using Sporormiella as a case study
    Etienne, D; Jouffroy-Bapicot, I
  • Influence of sample location and livestock numbers on Sporormiella concentrations and accumulation rates in surface sediments of Lake Allos, French Alps
    Etienne, D; Wilhelm, B; Sabatier, P; Reyss, J-L; Arnaud, F
  • Late Holocene land-use and vegetation dynamics in an upland karst region based on pollen and coprophilous fungal spore analyses: an example from the Burren, western Ireland
    Feeser, I; O’Connell, M
  • Late quaternary climate and landscape evolution in arid Central Asia: a multiproxy study of lake archive Bayan Tohomin Nuur, Gobi Desert, southern Mongolia
    Felauer, T; Schlütz, F; Murad, W; Mischke, S; Lehmkuhl, F
  • The spore conundrum: does a dung fungus decline signal humans’ arrival in the Eastern United States?
    Fiedel, SJ
  • Evidence for an extraterrestrial impact 12,900 years ago that contributed to the megafaunal extinctions and the Younger Dryas cooling
    Firestone, RB; West, A; Kennett, JP
  • Seasonal activity of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) associated with dung in Southern Alberta and their geographic distribution in Canada
    Floate, KD; Gill, BD
  • Investigating anthropogenic mammoth extinction with mathematical models
    Frank, M; Slaton, A; Tinta, T; Capaldi, A
  • Modern non-pollen palynomorphs from East African lake sediments
    Gelorini, V; Verbeken, A; Geel, B
  • How reliable are non-pollen palynomorphs in tracing vegetation changes and grazing activities? Study from the Darjeeling Himalaya, India
    Ghosh, R; Paruya, DK; Acharya, K
  • Ecological impacts of the late quaternary megaherbivore extinctions
    Gill, JL
  • Linking abundances of the dung fungus Sporormiella to the density of bison: implications for assessing grazing by megaherbivores in palaeorecords
    Gill, JL; McLauchlan, KK; Skibbe, AM
  • Pleistocene megafaunal collapse, novel plant communities, and enhanced fire regimes in North America
    Gill, JL; Williams, JW; Jackson, ST
  • Climatic and megaherbivory controls on late-glacial vegetation dynamics: a new, high-resolution, multi-proxy record from Silver Lake, Ohio
    Gill, JL; Williams, JW; Jackson, ST; Donnelly, JP; Schellinger, GC
  • Development of modern analogues for natural, mowed and grazed grasslands using pollen assemblages and coprophilous fungi
    Graf, M-T; Chmura, GL
  • Timing and causes of mid-Holocene mammoth extinction on St. Paul Island, Alaska
    Graham, RW; Belmecheri, S; Choy, K
  • A requiem for North American overkill
    Grayson, DK; Meltzer, DJ
  • The effects of the variability of cattle dung on the multiplication of the bushfly (Musca vetustissima Walk.)
    Greenham, PM
  • Atlas of soil ascomycetes
    Guarro, J; Gené, J; Stchigel, AM; Figueras, MJ
  • Alaskan megabucks, megabulls, and megarams: the issue of Pleistocene gigantism
    Guthrie, RD
  • Pre-Clovis occupation 14,550 years ago at the Page-Ladson site, Florida, and the peopling of the Americas
    Halligan, JJ; Waters, MR; Perrotti, A
  • Illustrated genera of ascomycetes, volsI and II
    Hanlin, RT
  • An experimental analysis of the coprophilous fungus succession
    Harper, JE; Webster, J
  • Effects of nutrients and water stress on growth and sporulation of coprophilous fungi
    Harrower, KM; Nagy, LA
  • Middle and late holocene hunting in the Great Basin: a critical review of the debate and future prospects
    Hockett, B
  • Antiquity of communal pronghorn hunting in the North-Central Great Basin
    Hockett, B; Murphy, TW
  • Ballistics in certain ascomycetes
    Ingold, CT
  • The ballistics of Sordaria
    Ingold, CT; Hadland, SA
  • Morphologische untersuchungen über Ascobolus furfuraceus
    Janczewski, E
  • Using dung fungi to interpret decline and extinction of megaherbivores: problems and solutions
    Johnson, CN; Rule, S; Haberle, SG
  • Vegetation history since the last glacial maximum in the Ozark highlands (USA): a new record from Cupola Pond, Missouri
    Jones, RA; Williams, JW; Jackson, ST
  • Functional diversity and seasonal activity of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) on native grasslands in southern Alberta
    Kadiri, N; Lumaret, J-P; Floate, KD
  • High-resolution palynology reveals the land use history of a Sami renvall in northern Sweden
    Kamerling, IM; Schofield, JE; Edwards, KJ; Aronsson, K-Å
  • Biodiversity of fungi, inventory and monitoring methods
    Krug, JC; Benny, GL; Keller, HW
  • The genus Apiosordaria
    Krug, JC; Udagawa, S; Jeng, RS
  • Phylogenetic relationships and an assessment of traditionally used taxonomic characters in the Sporormiaceae (Pleosporales, Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota), utilising multi-gene phylogenies
    Kruys, Å; Wedin, M
  • Effects of water availability on germination, growth and sporulation of coprophilous fungi
    Kuthubutheen, AJ; Webster, J
  • Water availability and the coprophilous fungus succession
    Kuthubutheen, AJ; Webster, J
  • Holocene geomorphological processes and soil development as indicator for environmental change around Karakorum, Upper Orkhon Valley (Central Mongolia)
    Lehmkuhl, F; Hilgers, A; Fries, S; Hülle, D; Schlütz, F; Shumilovskikh, L; Felauer, T; Protze, J
  • Fungistasis in soils
    Lockwood, JL
  • Nordic Sordariaceae s. lat. Acta Universitas Upsaliensis. Symbolae Botanicae Uppsalienses
    Lundqvist, N
  • Insect effects on bacteria and fungi in Cattle Dung
    Lussenhop, J; Kumar, R; Wicklow, DT; Lloyd, JE
  • Interaction of competing fungi with fly larvae
    Lussenhop, J; Wicklow, DT
  • PattersonNatural change and human impact in Madagascar
    Macphee, RDE
  • Quaternary extinctions: a prehistoric revolution
    Martin, PS
  • Researches on coprophilous fungi, VolII
    Massee, G; Salmon, ES
  • How old is pastoralism in Tibet? An ecological approach to the making of a Tibetan landscape
    Miehe, G; Miehe, S; Kaiser, K; Reudenbach, C; Behrendes, L; Duo, L; Schlütz, F
  • Pollen analysis
    Moore, PD; Webb, JA; Collison, ME
  • Coprophilous ascomycetes of northern Thailand
    Mungai, P; Hyde, KD; Cai, L
  • Coprophilous ascomycetes in Kenya: Sporormiella from wildlife dung
    Mungai, PG; Njogu, JG; Chukeatirote, E; Hyde, KD
  • Revisiting the life cycle of dung fungi, including Sordaria fimicola
    Newcombe, G; Campbell, J; Griffith, D
  • Habitat differences of coprophilous fungi on moose dung
    Nyberg, Å; Persson, I-L
  • Dung deposition, breakdown and grazing behavior of beef cattle at two seasons in a tropical grassland ecosystem
    Omaliko, CPE
  • Influences of climate, cattle density, and lake morphology on Sporormiella abundances in modern lake sediments in the US Great Plains
    Parker, NE; Williams, JW
  • Pollen and Sporormiella evidence for terminal Pleistocene vegetation change and megafaunal extinction at Page-Ladson, Florida
    Perrotti, AG
  • The efficacy of sonication-assisted sieving on quaternary pollen samples
    Perrotti, AG; Siskind, T; Bryant, MK; Bryant, VM
  • Coprophilous fungi of the horse
    Piontelli, E; Santa-Maria, MAT; Caretta, G
  • Holocene history of Lac des Lauzons (2180 m asl), reconstructed from multiproxy analyses of Coleoptera, plant macroremains and pollen (HautesAlpes, France)
    Ponel, P; Court-Picon, M; Guiter, F; Beaulieu, JL; Andrieu-Ponel, V; Djamali, M; Leydet, M; Gandouin, E; Buttler, A
  • Sporormiella as a tool for detecting the presence of large herbivores in the Neotropics
    Raczka, MF; Bush, MB; Folcik, AM; McMichael, CH
  • A test of Sporormiella representation as a predictor of megaherbivore presence and abundance
    Raper, D; Bush, M
  • Coprophilous ascomycetes on different dung types
    Richardson, MJ
  • Diversity and occurrence of coprophilous fungi
    Richardson, MJ
  • A review of the laboratory preparation of Palynomorphs with a description of an effective non-acid technique
    Riding, JB; Kyffin-Hughes, JE
  • The aftermath of megafaunal extinction: ecosystem transformation in pleistocene Australia
    Rule, S; Brook, BW; Haberle, SG
  • Nonpollen palynomorphs notes: 1. Type HdV368 (Podospora-type), descriprions of associated species, and the first key to related spore types
    Schlütz, F; Shumilovskikh, L
  • Sasanian Persia: between Rome and the Steppes of Eurasia
    Shumilovskikh, L; Djamali, M; Andrieu-Ponel, V; Ponel, P; Beaulieu, JL; Naderi-Beni, A; Sauer, EW
  • Landscape evolution and agrosylvopastoral activities on the Gorgan Plain (NE Iran) in the last 6000 years
    Shumilovskikh, LS; Hopper, K; Djamali, M
  • The harbour of Elaia: a palynological archive for human environmental interactions during the last 7500 years
    Shumilovskikh, LS; Seeliger, M; Feuser, S
  • Test of Martin’s overkill hypothesis using radiocarbon dates on extinct megafauna
    Surovell, TA; Pelton, SR; Anderson-Sprecher, R; Myers, AD
  • American megafaunal extinctions at the end of the pleistocene
    Surovell, TA; Waguespack, NM
  • Detection of human landscape alteration using nested microbotanical and fungal proxies
    Szymanski, RM
  • Fungal cannons: explosive spore discharge in the Ascomycota
    Trail, F
  • Fungal diversity on dung of tropical animals in temperate environments: implications for reconstructing past megafaunal populations
    Asperen, EN
  • The effect of preparation methods on spores of coprophilous fungi: implications for recognition of megafaunal populations
    Asperen, EN; Kirby, JR; Hunt, CO
  • Humans rather than climate the primary cause of Pleistocene megafaunal extinction in Australia
    Kaars, S; Miller, GH; Turney, CSM
  • Environmental reconstruction of a Roman period settlement site in Uitgeest (The Netherlands), with special reference to coprophilous fungi
    Geel, B; Buurman, J; Brinkkemper, O; Schelvis, J; Aptroot, A; Reenen, G; Hakbijl, T
  • Mycological evidence for coprophagy from the feces of an Alaskan Late Glacial mammoth
    Geel, B; Guthrie, RD; Altmann, JG
  • Spororminula tenerifae gen. et sp. nov
    Arx, JA; Aa, HA
  • Seasonal occurrence (phenology) of coprophilous beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae and Hydrophilidae) from cattle and sheep farms in southeastern Michigan, USA
    Wassmer, T
  • Coprophilous fungi
    Webster, J
  • The fungal community: its organization and role in the ecosystem
    Wicklow, DT
  • Fungal community expression in lagomorph versus ruminant feces
    Wicklow, DT; Angel, K; Lussenhop, J
  • Effect of incubation temperature on the coprophilous fungal succession
    Wicklow, DT; Moore, V
  • Effect of larval grazing by Lycoriella mali (Diptera:Sciaridae) on species abundance of coprophilous fungi
    Wicklow, DT; Yocom, DH
  • Accumulation rates or percentages? How to quantify Sporormiella and other coprophilous fungal spores to detect late quaternary megafaunal extinction events
    Wood, JR; Wilmshurst, JM
  • Sporormiella as a proxy for non-mammalian herbivores in island ecosystems
    Wood, JR; Wilmshurst, JM; Worthy, TH; Cooper, A
  • The fastest flights in nature: high-speed spore discharge mechanisms among fungi
    Yafetto, L; Carroll, L; Cui, Y

You’re reading a free preview. Subscribe to read the entire article.

Try 2 weeks free now

DeepDyve is your
personal research library

It’s your single place to instantly
discover and read the research
that matters to you.

Enjoy affordable access to
over 18 million articles from more than
15,000 peer-reviewed journals.

All for just $49/month

Explore the DeepDyve Library

or browse the journals available

Search

Query the DeepDyve database, plus search all of PubMed and Google Scholar seamlessly

Organize

Save any article or search result from DeepDyve, PubMed, and Google Scholar... all in one place.

Access

Get unlimited, online access to over 18 million full-text articles from more than 15,000 scientific journals.

Your journals are on DeepDyve

Read from thousands of the leading scholarly journals from SpringerNature, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford University Press and more.

All the latest content is available, no embargo periods.

See the journals in your area

DeepDyve

Freelancer

DeepDyve

Pro

Price

FREE

$49/month
$499/year

Save searches from
Google Scholar,
PubMed

Create folders to
organize your research

Export folders, citations

Read DeepDyve articles

Abstract access only

Unlimited access to over
18 million full-text articles

Print

20 pages / month

Sign up
for free
Start 14 day
Free Trial